Legal News

Airborne Pays $7M to Settle Investigation

The makers of Airborne have reached a $7 million agreement with the attorneys general of 32 states to settle an ongoing investigation over the labeling and marketing of the popular dietary supplement.

The manufacturers of Airborne -- a supplement that combines a number of vitamins, minerals and herbs -- claim that the product helps support the immune system. Although the agreement announced on December 16 involves marketing language that has already been removed from the product's packaging and advertising, the makers of Airborne also "agreed to certain prohibitions against making claims over the benefits of its products," and pledged to "not demand where a retailer puts its products in stores," Reuters reports.

According to a News Release from AirborneHealth, "The settlement with the Attorneys General - which involves no admission of wrongdoing on Airborne's part - is the last of three settlements involving similar claims regarding the older advertising and labeling of Airborne dietary supplements." In August 2008, the makers of Airborne reached an agreement with the Federal Trade Commission to pay a total of $30M into a settlement fund, as resolution of a class action lawsuit and related FTC charges of deceptive advertising and product labeling.

• Reuters: Airborne Pays $7 Mln in Settlement with 32 States
• Statement of Airborne Health, Inc. on Settlement (AirborneHealth.com)
• Airborne Reaches $30M Settlement for Ad Claims (FindLaw's Common Law Blog 8/21/2008)
• Deceptive Trade Practices: State Laws (FindLaw)
• Health Care and the Law: Articles, FAQ, and More (FindLaw)

Full post as published by FindLaw's Common Law on December 29, 2008 (boomark / email).